Bobbi Gibb and Kathrine Switzer: why does marketing self matter?

So what you are saying is that Katherine Switzer is making a lot of money?

To my knowledge she makes nothing and neither does Gibb.

Runners and those who work with them tend to be middle class at best.

That b&w photo from the '67 race is truly iconic. And since that day numerous media sources continually draw 2 basic misconceptions - Switzer was the first woman to run a marathon (nope), or she was first to run Boston (nope).

Bobbi Gibb is a very private person with diverse interests, while Kathy is a self-promoter who loves the camera. Two very different persons. While I admire the good work Switzer has done through the years advancing women's running, at times she seems to be completely full of herself.

Lately Switzer has been hawking her book "Marathon Woman" and shilling her new nonprofit "261 Fearless". It is unclear to me why she felt the need to launch this, especially since women currently outnumber men at most road races. But hey, good for her. Just seems like another vehicle for her to regurgitate that old story about dodging Jock Semple 50 years ago. And BTW, Bobbi Gibb finished an hour ahead of Kathy that day in '67, a detail that's seldom mentioned by the media or Switzer herself.

I respect both women. Switzer pen-palled with me in 1971-72 when I was a fourteen-year-old beginner runner. She didn't have to do that.

Switzer did work tirelessly to put women's running on the same level as men. Has she put on road races solely to gain financially? Does she blog about how awesome her sponsors are? Is she online bragging about her marketing and branding expertise? That's what self-promoters do.

Marketing First wrote:

Why did Katherine Switzer get so famous? Seems to me it was the picture of her BF shoving Jock Semple aside that made her mark.

"Switzer has since gone on to essentially make a career of that 1967 incident."

Gibb, otoh, was a far better runner and raced before Switzer at Boston. Yet, Switzer's self-aggrandizing marketing probably has made her a more popular name at least outside of this august group.

On that day, yes, Gibb was much faster. Eight years later Switzer ran 2:51 and was among the world leaders.

I do believe there has been some tension between Switzer and Gibb over the years. Switzer never knew she'd be in an iconic photograph. It doesn't really seem fair to expect Switzer to exclaim, "Bobbi Gibb was in that race too!" every time someone mentions that photo. If Switzer were a publicity hound, you think she would have run that race in baggy grey sweats? These are two women who are naturally drawn together in conversations and it's awkward for both of them.

E. Bonix wrote:

Lately Switzer has been hawking her book "Marathon Woman" and shilling her new nonprofit "261 Fearless". It is unclear to me why she felt the need to launch this, especially since women currently outnumber men at most road races..

She has probably done more for women racing in the United States than any other person and that is why women now outnumber men in races IN the United States. That is not true in the rest of the world and THAT is why she is, as you put it, "shilling" 261 Fearless. The goal is to promote womens running throughout the WORLD.

Lots of time has passed and things evolve. I've talked with Katharine about that day and I do believe that at the time she was only interested in getting to run the race officially. I suspect that later she found that she could use that experience to advance both women's running and her own "brand." Her husband once wrote about that race and acknowledged Gibb's presence by writing that she "ran most, but not all of the race." Technically that's true, Gibb hid behind a tree 100 yards from the start but as Roger told it you could have thought Gibb jumped into the race in Framingham. I never liked that passage because I thought it really short changed Gibb who had the much better race that dace y though who can say what Katharine would have run had she not had the episode with Semple?

There also seemed to be some tension between her and Grete Waitz some years later as she had been trying to get Waitz to run in her Avon race series but Grete never got all fired up about doing so.

Whatever self promotion Katharine's done has always benefited women's running at the same time. And she did make herself into a very good marathon runner in her prime which she should be credited for doing.

HRE wrote:

though who can say what Katharine would have run had she not had the episode with Semple?

Discus thrower boyfriend probably wasn't going to pace her to a great time. When I was trading letters with her in '71 or '72, she was living in Syracuse and she was doing some serious training. I think she advanced feminism a lot more than people realize. I'm sure she ruffled a few feathers along the way.

it matters a lot, mate

Well, marketing is very important, such as websites. When I started opening my own small online store, I had a lot of products, but unfortunately, they were practically not sold. And all because of the fact that no one has seen my site in Google or in other search engines. My business almost closed and after that my partner offered me to use SEO services. I understood that this is the only option and found this site https://serendipity-online-marketing.co.uk/ . After I did this, you won't believe it, they started buying products on my site and over time I even started making a profit :)

I always assumed it was because Gibb ran as a bandit without a bib number, but Switzer had actually secured a registered bib number as "K. Switzer". That fact also contributed to the iconic Semple incident, because he was trying to get her number off. There were other women on the coarse, such as Gibb again, but Switzer ran and finish with a registered number.